Where is Callen?
by Mulderette
Summary: The team searches for Callen when he disappears without a trace.
1. Chapter 1

_Felt like writing something a little angsty before finishing up The Game. This one will be short (really) just a couple of chapters. References to the episode "Little Angels." And a word of warning, this chapter ends in a cliffhanger._

xxxxx

"G?" Sam called as he knocked on the door to his partner's apartment. "Come on, man, we're gonna be late." He sighed to himself when there was no answer. Callen sleeping late? That just didn't happen. Worried now, he bent down and quickly picked the lock to the door. "G? I'm coming in." He entered the apartment and after a quick search, including closets, found it to be empty. His partner's car was outside, but where was G?

xxxxx

Sam walked towards the bullpen, his strides long and purposeful, his body filled with obvious tension. "Anything?" he asked Kensi and Deeks who looked as worried as he did.

"Not yet," Deeks said, with a shake of his head.

"Have the wonder twins traced his cell?" Sam asked. He hadn't found it in the apartment, in G's car or anywhere in the bar.

"Just sent the address to your phones," Eric said as he and Nell joined the concerned team members.

Sam was already headed back towards the exit. "You coming?" he called. Kensi and Deeks quickly got to their feet to join him and the three went outside to the Challenger. Deeks got into the back seat, allowing his wife to sit in front with Sam.

"When's the last time you talked to him?" Kensi asked as Sam started the engine.

"When I dropped him off at the bar last night."

"Do you think he's on a case?" Deeks asked.

"Without a car?" Sam snapped.

"Maybe someone picked him up," Kensi said, trying to ease Sam's tension. Sam said nothing though, his sole focus on getting to the location of Callen's phone as fast as possible.

xxxxx

"I don't see it," Deeks said, as he, Sam and Kensi carefully explored the isolated area.

"It has to be somewhere," Sam said. He was trying to keep his emotions in control, but none of this made any kind of sense and it was getting harder and harder to do so.

"Sam! Over here." Sam and Deeks hurried over to Kensi who handed Sam Callen's cell phone.

"Anything else here?" Sam asked, as his eyes scanned the ground where the phone had been.

Kensi shook her head. "I don't see anything." The three of them inspected the area slowly and carefully, searching for any clue which could lead them to Callen, but they found nothing.

"Come on. Let's get this phone to Eric and Nell. Maybe they can find some clue to G's whereabouts."

Sam had just opened the driver's side door to the Challenger when someone called out to him. "Sam? Sam Hanna?!"

"Who the hell are you?" Sam asked as the newcomer approached, a middle-aged white male, slim with thinning grey hair and a menacing look in his eyes.

"Whatever are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" the man asked, ignoring Sam's question. Looking for something? A lost puppy perhaps?" He smiled coldly, obviously enjoying whatever game he was playing.

"Where is he?" Sam growled, grabbing the man roughly. "Tell me or I'll shake it out of you!"

"Sam!" Deeks grabbed the irate man and pulled him away. "You won't find out anything if you kill him."

"Sorry, I haven't seen any puppies out here. I think you'd best look in another location," the man said. "There's nothing for you here."

"Cuff him," Sam ordered. Deeks quickly did as Sam wanted and ushered the man into the Challenger.

xxxxx

The first thing Callen realized as he regained consciousness was that he was cold and his hands were cuffed. He was lying on his back and was also blindfolded. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself as he tried to remember what had happened. Based on his pounding headache, someone had likely coldcocked him. He had no clue who though. He didn't remember a thing except entering Deeks' bar after hours. Luckily, his hands were cuffed in front of him and not behind him. He quickly reached for the blindfold so he could see what he was dealing with. When he removed it though, to his dismay, he found that he was engulfed in blackness and couldn't see a thing.

xxxxx

"Who the hell are you and what did you do with my partner?" Sam snarled. He and Deeks were with the suspect in the interrogation room at the boat shed.

"I'm hurt you don't remember me," the man said with a self satisfied smirk. "It was nine years ago though so I suppose that could have something to do with it."

Sam stared at the man, trying to recall hm. He looked at Deeks but the younger man wasn't showing any signs of recognition either. "Who are you?"

"Randy Madison. Ring a bell?"

Sam shook his head impatiently. "What did you do with my partner?"

"I assure you he's quite safe, except for a bit of a headache, I'd imagine. He sunk like a stone, didn't have a clue I was in the bar until I hit him." Randy grinned. "I thought you agents were supposed to be more observant."

"Where is he?"

"What's for me to know and you to find out."

"I'll find out all right." Sam leaped at the man as Deeks quickly grabbed him to hold him back.

"We're not going to find out anything if you kill him, Sam."

"Where is he?" Sam repeated slowly, stress evident in his voice.

"First, let me tell you a bit about myself," Randy said, seeming to enjoy the power he held over the other two men. "I was born in West Virginia. My parents were humble folks, kind but not exactly wealthy."

"Cut the crap," Deeks ordered, his blue eyes flashing with anger. "Or you won't have to worry about Sam. I'll beat the crap out of you myself."

"Fine." The smile left Randy's face and he cast a cold look in Sam's direction. "You arrested me for gun trafficking. All I wanted was to earn a bit of extra money. I didn't deserve to be imprisoned."

"Seriously?" Deeks asked. "Haven't you ever heard of that three letter word called a job? It's what most people do to earn that money you were after."

"I had a job. It wasn't enough!" Randy was focused on Deeks now. "I still didn't deserve nine years in prison. It gave me lots of time to think...lots of time to make plans."

"What the hell did you do with my partner?!" Sam's patience had reached the endpoint, his imagination going into overdrive as he remembered what had happened to his wife and the untimely and tragic end to her life.

"I learned lots of things in prison. There were others who weren't exactly big fans of yours either. I found out you had a family, a wife, may she rest in peace, kids…"

"Man, you are asking for it." Deeks cast a concerned look at Sam who looked like he was at the end of his rope.

"Don't you mention my family, EVER!"

"Don't worry, Agent Hanna, killing children would be very distasteful to me...even women. I never would have harmed your wife. Suffocation wasn't it?" Randy gave a mock shudder. "Very distasteful business."

Sam had reached his limit. He lunged at Randy and put his hands around his neck. "WHERE IS MY PARTNER YOU SON OF A BITCH?!"

xxxxx

Callen easily got out of the handcuffs which had fit a little too tightly. He rubbed his wrists to regenerate the circulation then stretched his arms up overhead. That was when his hands hit the wooden ceiling. Swallowing back a feeling of panic, he felt around him and realized he was inside of a wooden enclosure. His heartbeat began to accelerate as his mind explored multiple scenarios, none of them favorable to him. One particular scenario kept coming back to him although he didn't want to face it, knowing it would mean he was going to come to a very bad and unpleasant end.

xxxxx

"Sam!" Kensi entered the room and helped Deeks to pull an enraged Sam off of Randy. "Sam don't!"

Breathing heavily and fighting to regain his composure, Randy stared at Sam hatefully. "You want to know where your partner is, Agent Hanna? He's underneath the ground, five or six feet beneath the surface, waiting to die."

Sam stared at Randy in shock. It had given him many nightmares over the years, being trapped underneath the ground as he had been all those years ago. Only this time it wasn't happening to him. It was happening to his partner and best friend. It was happening to G.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks so much for all the nice comments about the first chapter of this. I really appreciate them. And the couple of you who commented that it would be longer than two chapters were right lol. I think only three but no promises. In any case, this is a big cliffhanger so if you don't like that kind of thing, you might want to wait until the story is completed before going on. For those who decide to continue, thanks :)_

xxxxx

As a child, he'd found the darkness comforting, an escape from the harsh realities of some of the foster homes he had lived in. He'd always been small for his age and it had been easy to find a closet and hide in the back corner, behind hanging coats or suits and dresses. One particularly cruel foster mother had locked him in a closet on more than one occasion, never knowing that he'd found it a source of solace, a way to escape a beating or other cruelties which he'd experienced. However, this time, he took no such comfort in the darkness. He reached his arms up and pressed as hard as he could against the unforgiving wood. He immediately knew his efforts were useless. "Help! Can anyone hear me!"' he shouted. He was pretty sure his calls were in vain though and he stopped yelling, wanting to conserve his supply of air.

He couldn't help but wonder if the team had any idea about the type of predicament he was in. Sam had been borderline obsessed when Commander Jason Rehme's daughter, Amanda had gone missing and they had discovered she had been buried alive. His single-minded focus to find the girl had led them to successfully do so. She had been found alive and reunited with her father. He couldn't help but think about Michelle though. They hadn't been successful in finding her and he would always carry that with him, knowing what it had done to her family. Now, he empathized even more with what she had gone through and what she might have been feeling, especially regarding her husband and children. It was times like this he was grateful he had no wife or children he'd be leaving behind.

He couldn't help but think about how much air he had left. If Sam was in this situation, he'd be able to calculate it, but then again, he wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious. Maybe he was close to the end of his air supply already. He tried to take slow and shallow breaths, realizing panic would cause him to take deeper breaths, making the air run out even sooner. He didn't mind admitting he was scared silly. A bullet to the head would certainly be preferable to this way of dying. He wondered how long it would take. He wondered who had put him here and why. He wondered if the team was making any inroads investigating what had happened to him. Maybe they would never find him. In all honesty, if he died here in this little tomb, he'd rather they didn't. He couldn't imagine how Sam would react after having lost Michelle in a similar way and Hetty...he didn't want to put her through it either. However, unless they were convinced he'd gone off lone wolf, he didn't think anyone would react well to his disappearance, whether he was found or not.

xxxxx

Sam had left the interrogation room and was now pacing around the boat shed like a madman. Deeks followed him shortly after. "Are you okay?"

"Do you think I'm okay, Deeks?" Sam asked turning on the younger man angrily. "My partner is underground God knows where with who knows how much air. What do you think?!"

"I'm sorry," Deeks said, "but this isn't helping."

"Don't you think I know that! I know it's not helping. He's not going to tell us though. He's getting off on this. He thinks it's a goddamn game."

"Maybe he'll tell us."

"You know he won't. This is a punishment aimed at me. If we don't find him ourselves…" Sam trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, knowing he didn't have to.

xxxxx

"I don't understand what you were thinking," Kensi said, her eyes locked with Randy's. "You were out of prison, onto a whole new start and you blew it all away, for what? For a murder charge so you could spend the rest of your life in prison with no hope of parole? Because if Callen dies, that's exactly what you're going to get. But maybe, if you tell us where he is, just maybe someone will go a little easier on you."

Randy chuckled lightly then broke into full blown laughter. "Do you think I care about going back to prison? Do you really think I friggen care? I welcome it. No one will hire me. I'm sponging off my elderly parents. How do you think that makes me feel? I don't want that. I'd rather be in prison. I had friends there, a good life. There's nothing for me out here. Nothing but misery."

Kensi stared at him, not knowing how to react to his unexpected words. Finally, she silently headed back out to where Sam and Deeks had been watching over the monitor. "Now what?" she asked, staring at Sam.

"Now I try again," Sam said, heading back towards the interrogation room.

xxxxx

"What is it that you want?" Sam got right to the point when he stepped into the room.

"I'm getting it right now," Randy replied. "A lot of people don't even like who they work with. I wasn't sure that trying to get at you through your partner would even affect you, but by golly it did. I couldn't have dreamed of a better reaction."

"Are you kidding?" Sam asked, looking appalled. "You were home free and you ruined it. There were people who could have helped you find a job, places you could have gone to. You didn't need to do this. Not to him. He doesn't deserve it."

Randy shrugged. "He's just collateral damage. There are innocent victims in every war."

"This isn't a war!" Sam snapped. "This is between you and me. Take me to where he is. We'll go there and you can do what you want with me. Just save him...please."

xxxxx

Watching from the other room Kensi cast a stricken look at her partner and husband. "Deeks, what is he doing?"

"It's okay, baby," Deeks said reassuringly. "Sam isn't going to be on his own, no matter what he tells this freak. We won't let him."

xxxxx

Randy remained silent, staring back at Sam with a faint smile on his lips, obviously amused by the other man's reaction.

"Can you tell me how long he's been in there?" Sam demanded desperately, his eyes filled with emotion. "How much time does he have?"

"Hmmm…. " Randy closed his eyes, seeming or pretending to be lost in thought. "He's been in there four hours, five maybe? It's hard to say."

"Five hours?" Sam asked, distressed by this answer. He had no idea how large the size of the box was, but he guessed it wasn't all that big. Even though Callen wasn't a large man, he couldn't imagine he had much more time left. "Where...where is he? Please tell me...Please."

Randy seemed lost in thought before he finally nodded. "Do you always believe the words of a felon, Agent Hanna?"

"What? What are you talking about now?" Sam asked.

"Back where you found Agent Callen's cell phone. I told you there was nothing for you there. No little puppy to be found. But, I lied. My parent's house is back there, just a short distance away. Didn't you even wonder what I was doing way out there with no vehicle?"

"He's back there?" Sam yelled. He grabbed Randy and hauled him to his feet. "Come on. He'd better still be alive or I'll choke the life right out of you, you lying bastard."

xxxxx

It was getting harder to breathe. Visions of Mexico were flashing through his head, but truthfully, he didn't remember a whole lot right before he had lost consciousness. He did think it was similar to this, but this was definitely worse. In Mexico, he'd derived comfort from Sam's presence. At least he hadn't been dying alone. Now, he felt more alone than he'd ever been. He was struggling, fighting the urge to gulp down air, knowing that would cause him to use it up faster, but it was a losing battle. He knew he wasn't getting enough. The only good thing was that he was weakening and it was getting difficult to stay awake. He was pretty sure he was just going to slip off into an eternal sleep. He just felt bad for the team, for Sam, for Hetty, for all of them. He never would have left them like this if he'd had a choice. They were everything to him. They were his family. He loved them. "I'm sorry…" he whispered as he allowed his eyes to close and his head slumped to the side. "Momma, Amy...I'll see you soon…"


	3. Chapter 3

_I think I need to just stop estimating story lengths unless it's a one shot. In any case, thanks so much for reading and for all your support. As always, it is very much appreciated :)_

xxxxx

Eric and Nell were whispering in frantic hushed tones when Hetty walked into Ops. She looked at them suspiciously and approached them silently before speaking. "Is something going on I should know about?"

They both started at her sudden appearance. Eric's cheeks immediately flushed and after several long moments of silence, Nell finally spoke. "Hetty… we weren't expecting you. I thought you were at a conference and could't be disturbed."

"As you well know, Miss Jones, I'm always reachable if there is an urgent situation and from the looks on your faces, I'm guessing this could be one of those times?"

"Actually Hetty, that isn't exactly true, because none of us were able to reach you after what happened in Mexico," Eric said.

"Eric, what are you doing?" Nell admonished quietly, shaking her head at him disapprovingly.

"I...sorry," he mumbled, the redness on his cheeks deepening.

"Will somebody please tell me what's going on?" Hetty demanded.

Nell found herself suddenly flashing back to when Sam and Callen had been trapped on the narco sub. Granger had wanted to keep Hetty in the dark, but she had blurted out the truth, which was what she decided to do now. "Callen is missing and we think he's been buried alive."

"What?" Hetty stared back at Nell in shock as she tried to compose herself. "How… when did this happen? Who is responsible?"

"His name is Randy Madison," Nell began.

"And who is that?" Hetty asked.

"He's an ex-convict who Sam put away about nine years ago.. He was recently released from prison and basically did this to get back at Sam."

Hetty sighed sadly. She knew Sam's history and could only imagine what this was doing to him. "Are there any leads?"

"We have Madison in custody," Nell continued. "He's hopefully leading the team to Callen as we speak."

"And does anyone know how long he's been down there?" Hetty asked, unable to hide her anguish.

"Possibly four or five hours." Eric's tone was soft as he delivered this information and he stared down at the floor, unable to meet Hetty's eyes.

Hetty bowed her head and silently began to pray that somehow, some way, her boy would be spared.

xxxxx

Deeks insisted on driving and Sam didn't protest. He sat in the back seat with Madison, allowing Kensi and Deeks to sit in front. He could hear them speaking softly, but he didn't even try to listen or participate in whatever conversation they were having. His head was filled with too many thoughts, all of them bad. Images were coming to him non-stop, a kaleidoscope of non-stop images he was unable to stop: being buried with Bryan, his Navy seal teammate who he had watched die; his wife, slowly suffocating, waiting for help which had never come until it was too late; Callen unable to breathe and almost dying in Mexico; and the frantic search for Amanda Remy. He knew what it was like to be trapped underground. It was something he would never forget, the horror of thinking you were going to die, of having no way to escape the situation on your own, the helpless feeling of waiting alone in the darkness for help that might never come. It wasn't something he would wish on his worst enemy, never mind it happening to his best friend in the world.

"If we're too late, I did try to help, so it's not my fault," Madison said.

"You son of a bitch," Sam growled. "You seriously think this isn't your fault? You're the one who did this to him!"

"Still, if I didn't decide to tell you, he'd die for sure. I could have left him down there and never said a word. At least now, maybe he has a chance."

"You better hope he has more than a chance," Sam snapped. "Because if he doesn't make it, I wouldn't give a nickel for your chances."

"Did you hear that? He's threatening me" Madison whined loudly. "You both heard him. I know you did."

"I'm concentrating on the road," Deeks said. "Didn't hear a thing. Did you?" he asked Kensi.

"Nope. I didn't hear anything either."

Sam just sighed, wanting Deeks to drive even faster but he kept quiet just silently praying they would get there in time.

xxxxx

Finally, they arrived at the house that Madison directed them to. It was an old house, badly in need of repairs and a new coat of paint. He led them to the backyard which was bordered by woods. They only walked a few feet into the woods before they found the hill of packed dirt. Sam thrust a shovel at Madison then he and Deeks started to dig as fast and hard as they could. "I can help, guys," Kensi protested as Madison joined them.

"I know you can, Kens," Sam said. "I just want you to keep an eye on this jackass and make sure he doesn't try any funny business."

It didn't take long for Deeks' shovel to hit the top of the wooden box and he and Sam frantically cleared away enough dirt from the lid for them to be able to pry it open. "Damn," Sam exclaimed when they saw Callen's motionless form. They carefully lifted him out of the box and placed him on the ground.

"I don't have a pulse," Deeks said grimly, shaking his head.

"Come on, G, don't do this, buddy." Sam pleaded as he tilted back his friend's head to start rescue breathing.

Deeks watched Callen's chest for any sign that he was breathing on his own, but there was none so he started chest compressions. "You got an ETA on the paramedics, Kens?"

"They're five minutes out." Kensi had handcuffed Madison once again and was watching the scene in front of her anxiously, praying that Callen was going to come around.

In spite of what seemed to be a hopeless situation, neither Sam or Deeks was willing to give up. Finally, their efforts paid off as Callen began breathing on his own.

"Pulse is weak, but it's there," Deeks said, watching as Sam tried to rouse his partner.

"G? Hey buddy, it's Sam, can you hear me?" There were no signs that Callen was aware of his partner though as he remained still and unresponsive.

After what seemed like forever, the EMTs arrived. They immediately began working on Callen as Sam, Kensi and Deeks looked on helplessly.

"I can't believe this happened," Sam's eyes were filled with despair. "First Michelle and now G…"

Kensi and Deeks exchanged a look. Each still carried their own share of self blame for what had happened to Michelle. "It won't be like that this time." Kensi gave Sam a gentle hug in a show of support.. "Callen's strong...he'll pull through this."

Sam shook his head. "You don't know that, Kens...and even if he does regain consciousness, we don't know how long he went without air. He could have brain damage and who knows what kinds of side effects." The more he thought about what could be wrong with his partner, the more he was convinced that this wasn't going to end well. Callen hadn't had the greatest of lives and now, because of him, just like Michelle, he had suffered one of the cruelest fates possible.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks so much for your support, as always :)_

xxxxx

The paramedics secured Callen onto the stretcher and prepared to transport him into the ambulance.

"Where are you taking him?" Sam asked anxiously, his eyes on his partner who now had an oxygen mask on his face.

"We're going to take him to the UCLA Medical Center. They have one of the top neurology departments in the United States. It's his best chance."

"He's my partner. Can I ride with him?" Sam pleaded with the paramedic who had answered his previous question.

The paramedic hesitated for a few moments then nodded. "Sure, you can come along."

Sam turned to Kensi and Deeks. "Can you take care of Madison?"

"Of course Sam," Kensi answered. "We'll meet you at the hospital after we drop him off."

"Thanks guys." Sam gave them a grim nod then headed into the ambulance after his partner. The doors were then closed and a few moments later the ambulance left the area.

"Come on," Deeks said, grabbing Madison's arm roughly, causing him to whine pitifully. "You'd better hope he pulls through this or I'll really give you something to whine about."

xxxxx

They sat in the small waiting room, none of them speaking, just silently waiting for news. They were all there, Sam, Hetty, Kensi, Deeks, Eric and Nell. The only sounds were an occasional clearing of someone's throat or a muffled cough. None of them had any words. They were each caught up in his or her own private thoughts. No one spoke at all until a grim-faced doctor came into the room. Six sets of eyes looked at him anxiously and Sam immediately got to his feet. "How is he?"

"Miraculously, he's still alive," the doctor said. "Right now he's been intubated and will be transferred to the ICU so he can be closely monitored."

"But how is he?" Sam persisted. "Is he going to be alright?"

"I can't tell you that," he doctor answered quietly. "We're not sure how long he was deprived of oxygen and right now he's in a coma. My best advice would be to hope for the best but prepare for the worst."

"Meaning what?" Hetty asked, finally composing herself enough to speak.

The doctor sighed. "Meaning that even if he does regain consciousness, there are no guarantees to what kind of brain injury he may have sustained."

The team members exchanged looks of dismay, none of them wanting to accept what seemed to be a poor prognosis.

"Well, I for one am not giving up," Hetty stated, looking up at the doctor. "Can I see him?"

"Of course," the doctor said with a nod. "For now, I'd like to limit it to two visitors at a time. And I'm not meaning to sound overly pessimistic. I've seen countless cases which have turned out better than expected over the years. Sometimes the power of love and family can work wonders. Sit with him, talk to him. It's not going to hurt and may help a great deal."

"Well, there's no shortage of love here," Hetty said with a smile. "If that's what it takes, then I think Mr. Callen's chances are very good indeed."

xxxxx

Eric and Nell went into Callen's room first. Nell's eyes immediately brimmed with tears when she saw Callen attached to the various wires and monitors, looking frail and small in the hospital bed. She sat next to Callen and took his hand gently as Eric stood awkwardly beside her. "Callen? It's me, Nell. Eric is here too."

"Hey, Callen," Eric said softly.

Nell sniffled then got her emotions back under control. "Everyone is pulling for you. You just need to fight hard to get through this. We know you can do it and we'll all be with you, every step of the way. We'll do whatever we can to help you."

They stayed there for a little while before Eric gently put his hand on Nell's shoulder. "We should give the others a chance to come in."

Nell nodded, her eyes filling with tears once again as she stood up then leaned down over Callen to give him a kiss on his cheek. "You hang in there...we'll be back to see you soon."

xxxxx

"We should have had a better security system in the bar," Deeks mused quietly, his eyes filled with guilt.

Kensi took his hand and squeezed it. "This isn't your fault, sweetheart. This guy was determined to get to Callen. If it hadn't been there, it would have been somewhere else."

"Still, it was there," Deeks said insistently. "What if he had hurt my mom? We need to beef up security there."

Kensi sighed, then nodded. Roberta's safety was a legitimate concern. "We'll look into it," she said. "But for now, let's just concentrate on Callen and doing whatever we can to help him get well."

"Do you think he will?" Deeks spoke quietly, making sure that Hetty and Sam weren't listening to him. "Get well? The doctor didn't sound very hopeful."

"We need to believe he'll get better," Kensi said. "Doctors don't know everything. We just have to hope and pray he'll get through this."

Deeks nodded. "It's just...sometimes I get so sick of this, Kens...the whackos we're constantly dealing with...the stuff they do...Who even does stuff like this, buries someone alive...I just don't get it. Sometimes I'd just like to run off with you and live together on a private beach where we wouldn't have to worry about anything, just each other and our future children. We'd just be safe and happy there."

"Our own private cocoon?" Kensi asked, smiling. "It's a lovely dream, Deeks and maybe someday it will come true. But for now, I think we need to stay in the real world, just doing the best we can to help keep people safe in whatever little way we can."

Deeks nodded, but he wasn't convinced. They couldn't even keep their own team safe half the time. Like Kensi, he wasn't yet ready to walk away from NCIS, but when stuff like this happened, it made that day seem closer rather than farther away.

xxxxx

Hetty sat with Callen, holding his hand and using all her inner strength to focus on keeping herself together. After Kensi and Deeks had spent some time with him, Sam had told her to take some time Callen alone, before he went in to see his partner. "I'm so sorry this happened to you," Hetty said gently. "You've had a very bad year, my boy and I'll never forgive myself for not being there for you and your team after what happened in Mexico. But this time, no matter what, I'm going to be here for you. You're not going to be alone. We'll all do whatever it takes to help you through it."

It was times like these that she was grateful for the money she had put away. She still had Dovecote and if necessary, she would sell it or do whatever it took to get Callen better. His well being was more important than anything to her. Of course, she knew she was jumping the gun and hated that she was even thinking this way, but sometimes it was hard not to be negative. He'd gone through so much and now here was yet another hurdle to challenge him. It just didn't seem fair. It didn't seem fair at all.

xxxxx

"Hey, buddy." Sam walked over to his partner, his eyes sweeping over the seemingly endless wires attached to him. "Bet you're not liking this too much." He sighed softly and sat down next to his friend, unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry you got into this whole mess because of me. I hate that it happened."

Unexpectedly, Sam's eyes filled with tears and he hastily wiped them with the back of his hand. Sometimes he couldn't help but regret some of his life choices. He wondered what his life would have been like if he'd decided on a so-called "safe" career, like a teacher, a lawyer or a doctor. Then again, he would have never met Michelle, never met G. His mind went over the trade offs as he realized he would never trade the happy years he'd had with his wife and children, despite how tragically Michelle's wife had ended. Likewise, his partnership with Callen, except for being a father to his children, was the most important relationship he currently had. "You need to pull through this, G." He took his his hand and squeezed it encouragingly. "You have to."

xxxxx

The next two days passed uneventfully. Callen's condition did not deteriorate, but it didn't seem to improve either. In any case, he was never alone. The team stayed with him in shifts, one or two of them sitting with Callen, playing music, telling him sports scores, funny stories about work or just reading to him. They did everything in their power to hopefully bring about some change, any little sign to tell them that he was on the road to recovery. However, so far their efforts had been fruitless.

xxxxx

"So, my mom is coming over to visit you tomorrow morning," Deeks said. He'd come to sit with Callen after work that day, the third day of Callen's hospitalization. "She's dying to cook for you. Of course, that's not going to happen until you're doing better. I'm not really sure what it is about women wanting to feed people who are sick. I guess it's just that nurturing instinct. Kensi will nurse me when I'm sick, but as you well know, she doesn't exactly have the whole cooking thing going on." He chuckled, imagining Kensi making homemade soup from scratch.

"Momma used to make me the greatest chicken soup when I was home sick from school. Of course, this is just between me and you, but there were times when I'd fake being sick, just to get some of that chicken soup. I don't remember her making it any other time. Maybe she did. I don't know, I'm not sure. If you play your cards right, I bet you can get her to make it for you." Deeks thought about it for a few moments then glanced over at Callen. He started slightly then grabbed for the call button frantically, all thoughts gone from his head except for the fact that Callen's blue eyes were open, frightened-appearing and fixed on Deeks. He quickly took Callen's hand, doing what he could to calm him. "Hey Callen. It's so good to see you awake. Everything's fine. Everything's going to be okay."


End file.
